Just wondering if you had a problem with the original shockie 
and if so............??
I've always felt that the rear shock on the ST1300 was a bit undersprung for 2 up riding and the rear shock rebound damper just didn't have the range of adjustment to cope with our rough roads. After riding close to 30,000 kms, I thought the front and rear suspension was starting to feel a bit tired and could do with a freshen up. I gave the bike the full Racetech treatment with a focus on setting the spring rates and valving specifically for 2 up riding.
I replaced the OEM springs with 1.2kg standard rate springs and gold valve emulators. I had the OEM rear shock rebuilt with a slightly heavier spring and gold valve emulator. It made a big difference, especially to the front end. On good roads the bike handled like it was on rails and amazingly it was much more stable in dirty air. The rear shock rebuild was an improvement on OEM but it still rode a bit harsh, especially on rough surfaces. After a long day in the saddle on our finest regional roads.....NOT.....the rear shock lack of performance was really noticeable.
After experiencing the moderate improvement in ride quality and handling with a budget suspension rebuild, I'm convinced that the ride could be even better with a top end rear shock that has a greater range of adjustment. So as the bike is now nudging 50,000 kms I thought I'd put my money where my mouth is and take the plunge on a 3 way adjustable Wilbers rear shock. It's an expensive experiment but from the research I've done it would indicate that its worth it.
If I lived in another part of Oz where the roads weren't too bad I'd probably stick with the Racetech set up, but the poor quality roads around my area prompted me to look for something better. I'm not bagging out the OEM suspension set up, it just didn't do the job for the riding I do
Tony
